Incumbent

Helen Abrahams (Labor) who currently represents much of this Ward as Councillor for abolished Dutton Park Ward.

Profile

On the south bank of the Brisbane River opposite the CDB, The Gabba Ward includes Kangaroo Point, East Brisbane, South Brisbane, West End, Dutton Park, Woolloongabba and parts of Coorparoo.

Redistribution

A new ward created from roughly equal parts of the abolished Dutton Park and East Brisbane wards. Thos parts transferred from Dutton Park recorded a 65.8% Labor vote in 2004, compared to 52.1% in parts of East Brisbane. The Gabba ward ends up with a Labor margin of 8.2% compared to 9.7% for Dutton Park and 1.1% for east Brisbane.

Main Candidates

Currently Councillor for Dutton Park ward, Helen Abrahams graduated as a medical practitioner from the University of Queensland and achieved specialist qualifications in Occupational Medicine. She worked in women’s health in South Australia and New South Wales for 10 years before returning to Brisbane and working at the Workers Health Centre. She previously served on Brisbane City Council representing Paddington Ward from 1991 to 1994. Her Liberal opponent is Matthew Myers, a community relations consultant for major infrastructure projects. Myers has also been an adjudicator for the Queensland Debating Union, a part-time teacher of public speaking and debating and a voluntary worker for amateur theatres. Also high profile in this contest is Green candidate Drew Hutton, several times the Greens' Lord Mayoral candidate, and several time also the lead Green candidate at Senate elections and a high profile candidate at several state elections.